System information

VMware Technical Support Guide
T E C H N I C A L S U P P O R T G U I D E – F E B R U R A R Y 2 0 1 0 / 3
Best Practices
Based on our experience in supporting enterprise-class customers with virtualization
infrastructures, we would like to share with you some recommendations and best practices for
a highly effective support relationship.
Educate Your Administrators
We have found that customers who invest in VMware education courses for their
administrators are much more effective in defining the symptoms of problems and in working
with us to resolve the underlying issues. The return on this investment is almost immediate
when you consider the cost of the education versus the cost of downtime. The VMware
Certified Professional (VCP) program offers technology professionals the knowledge, skills
and credentials to deploy and maintain VMware virtualization technology.
Plan Ahead
Before deploying our products, it is beneficial to review VMware release notes and other
related technical documentation for your environment. Of particular interest are the
installation, configuration and running of guest operating systems. We also recommend that
you carefully define your project plans and include adequate test time and a “crisis” plan to
ensure your administrators know how to contact the vendors involved. For more compl ex
infrastructure changes, VMware offers a variety of consulting services, including the VMware
Virtual Infrastructure Methodology (VIM), to help you assess your existing systems and
applications, and then use that knowledge to plan, build and manage your virtual
infrastructure.
Assign Appropriate Resources
Individuals assigned to deploy VMware products should be experienced in the installation,
operation, and maintenance of the hardware, desktop, server, network operating systems, and
applications in your environment before installing VMware software. Many installation issues
are actually issues with third party components and software. These issues would exist
regardless of whether you were installing on a physical machine or a virtual machine. If you
require assistance, VMware consultants are available to identify the best solution for your
environment, develop the solution and implement it right the first time.
Utilize Self-Help
Organizations can take full advantage of VMware self-help tools available on the Web. From
our support home page, you can find links to technical documentation and knowledge base
solutions, discuss issues with other administrators in our discussion forum, and reference our
white papers, tech notes and compatibility guides.
Provide Complete and Accurate Information
As with any troubleshooting process, accurate and timely resolution depends on accurate and
timely information. If a virtual machine exhibits abnormalities or crashes, please run the
“vmsupport script” to collect the appropriate log files and system information. Information on
how to run this script for the various platforms can be found in the following knowledge base
article, http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1008524.
Create a personal profile. If you are new to VMware Support, you need to create a personal
profile and register your product serial numbers via the VMware Web site.